Pac-12 Football: 10 Players Who Deserve Senior Bowl Invites
The Senior Bowl is a special college football event reserved for—you guess it—seniors who are hoping to impress professional scouts with the talents and skills they've accumulated throughout their careers.
You could call it an All-Star game, although it's rarely as simple as finding the nation's best seniors and dividing them into two squads. Take a look at the 2014 rosters, and you'll see it's not exactly a who's-who of the college football world, although plenty of talent still flocks to Mobile, Alabama, where the game takes place.
Draft-eligible juniors who've already received their degrees are also eligible to compete in the event, though they'd have to make their declaration for the NFL draft before we can begin penciling them in.
Coming up with just 10 players is in no way meant to diminish the countless Pac-12 players who deserve a spot in the Senior Bowl, so inevitably some of your favorite players will be left off. But we've spread the wealth here between teams to come up with a list of guys who should definitely be invited to Mobile to improve their chances of being drafted.
Take a look at 10 Pac-12 players who deserve an invite.
Note that WR Ty Montgomery, C Hroniss Grasu and DE Nate Orchard have already accepted invitations and thus will not be included here.
S Jordan Richards, Stanford
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Stanford safety Jordan Richards entered the season as the best safety in the league and nothing has happened to change that, although Arizona State's Damarious Randall might have something to say about it.
Richards has been the anchor in the Cardinal secondary for four years now and has seen time with some of the great college football defenses of recent years. This season, he has a modest 67 tackles and one interception, but his experience playing in a system that has churned out great players and shut down frightening offenses is invaluable.
At 5'11", 210 pounds, Richards is a big hitter with three forced fumbles, and he definitely has a spot reserved on Sundays. With an invite and positive showing at the Senior Bowl, he may have a chance to climb into the top few rounds.
QB Sean Mannion, Oregon State
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Sean Mannion is exactly the kind of quarterback who should be headed to the Senior Bowl. Why? Because he's not a lock to be drafted in the first or second round like Marcus Mariota or Brett Hundley (should they declare), and his senior season has left something to be desired.
With two games remaining, Mannion has 2,688 yards passing and 12 touchdowns. Last season, he had nearly 4,700 yards and 37 touchdowns. He also had the benefit of throwing to now-NFL wideout Brandin Cooks, but scouts can't be loving such a severe drop-off. Great quarterbacks make do with what they have.
On the other hand, he's still shown plenty of signs that his talents merit a shot to be showcased on Sundays, such as his clutch touchdown pass to Jordan Villamin late in the Beavers' victory over Arizona State. The physical tools are there, and the Senior Bowl would be a perfect place for Mannion to feature them and improve his draft stock.
LB Tony Washington, Oregon
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A number of players on Oregon's defense would make perfect fits for the Senior Bowl. Cornerback Ifo Ekpre-Olomu is the headliner, but most folks know what he's all about. Opposite him, Troy Hill has had an outstanding season and played his way into a shot at the next level. But we're going with hybrid defensive end/linebacker Tony Washington, who filled the shoes of Dion Jordan at the start of last season and never looked back.
Being versatile is critical to playing on an NFL defense, and the more ways you can help out, the more likely you are to fit in with a team. Washington doesn't have Jordan's height, but at 6'3", 250 pounds, he has the speed to rush the passer or drop back into coverage and protect the flats.
He has notched 8.5 tackles for loss and four sacks after having 7.5 sacks in 2013. He's one of those players who won't be at the top of anyone's list to watch, even on Oregon's defense, so the Senior Bowl could be the perfect spot for Washington to display his abilities in front of potential employers.
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LB Hayes Pullard, USC
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USC linebacker Hayes Pullard is one of those players who get lost quickly in the shuffle of stars on the Trojans defense. Even younger players like Su'a Cravens and Adoree' Jackson have begun to make headlines, but that hasn't stopped Pullard from making plays.
The senior is as experienced as they come, having played all four seasons of his collegiate career. As a true freshman, he notched 81 tackles, and he has remained consistent over the years. He's at 75 this season, along with seven pass breakups.
At 6'1", 235 pounds, Pullard makes for a perfect inside linebacker in college. In the NFL, his speed could allow him to switch to an outside position and drop into deeper coverage more often. In any case, Pullard has weathered the NCAA sanctions storm as well as anyone and churned out a memorable career that deserves to be capped off with a trip to the Senior Bowl.
WR Kaelin Clay, Utah
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This spot was down to Colorado wide receiver D.D. Goodson and Utah's Kaelin Clay, and ultimately we went with the player who appears to have more potential at the next level. Aside from Clay's major blunder against the Ducks where he dropped the ball before reaching the end zone on what would have been a long touchdown grab, he's been an electric weapon in the Utes offense.
Against Oregon, he had five catches for 152 yards in a showcase of speed that few receivers nationwide could match. On the season, he has 333 yards receiving, which are modest numbers by any measure. But he also has three punt returns for scores and is averaging more than 26 yards per kick return.
That type of ability can be put to use in a variety of ways, and you can bet NFL teams are intrigued about having Clay in their respective offenses. The Senior Bowl is a perfect place for Clay to show off that speed and help teams envision how he might help them in the coming years.
S Damarious Randall, Arizona State
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After transferring from the junior college ranks in 2013, Arizona State safety Damarious Randall has enjoyed plenty of success at the highest level of college football. As a junior in his first season with the Sun Devils, he had 71 tackles, two forced fumbles and three interceptions.
With the mass exodus of defensive stars following last season, Randall immediately became a leader on the team and helped transform a questionable unit into an above-average one.
In 2014, Randall already has 84 tackles to go along with two interceptions, 7.5 tackles for loss and two more forced fumbles. As physical as he is in stopping the run, Randall also has six pass breakups in coverage. He's in the running for all-conference safety in a league with plenty of good ones, and he's exactly who scouts want an extra look at in the Senior Bowl.
LB Eric Kendricks, UCLA
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We've gushed over linebacker Eric Kendricks before, but it's time for the nation to see what's so special about the UCLA senior. Aside from ranking 12th nationally with 110 tackles on the season, Kendricks is a playmaker who seems destined for success in the NFL.
Of those 110 tackles, 77 have been solo, which puts him behind only Kansas' Ben Heeney, and it means that Kendricks doesn't always need help to bring down the ball-carrier. His instincts put him in the heart of the action nearly every play, and his hits are noticeable, as he rarely arm tackles.
In a recent victory over Washington, Kendricks had 13 tackles, 12 of which were solo. He's the best tackling linebacker in the country, and he'd be an excellent addition to the 2015 Senior Bowl roster.
WR Vince Mayle, Washington State
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In looking at the best wide receiver prospects in college football, you have an initial list of players who have nothing to prove. We're talking about players like Amari Cooper, Kevin White, Jaelen Strong and Nelson Agholor.
Vince Mayle isn't quite there, but he's not far behind after catching 88 passes for more than 1,100 yards and nine touchdowns in his senior campaign—more than double his yardage total from last year.
The NFL will always be looking for more big, physical receivers who can make plays in traffic and get open in tight coverage. At 6'3", 240 pounds, Mayle is almost a tight end, which should make him a hot commodity in the draft.
WR Austin Hill, Arizona
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Arizona wide receiver Austin Hill has had an interesting career, and if not for an injury that sidelined him for the 2013 season, we might be putting him in the same sentence as Nelson Agholor or Ty Montgomery.
People forget just how good Hill was, but as a sophomore he had 81 catches for 1,364 yards and 11 touchdowns. That's about as good as it gets for a wide receiver in college, but this season his numbers have dropped down to just 35 catches for 480 yards and four touchdowns.
The first explanation is that he's catching passes from a promising but inexperienced quarterback in Anu Solomon as opposed to Matt Scott. The second is that he's part of a receiving corps that is loaded with talent, and spreading the wealth is beneficial to the offense. Regardless of the reason for his statistical decline, he has the talent and definitely deserves a shot at the next level.
DT Danny Shelton, Washington
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The real debate here is between Danny Shelton and Hau'oli Kikaha, two standouts along Washington's defensive line who will be paying on Sundays next year. We chose Shelton as a player who belongs in the Senior Bowl because Kikaha has shown what he's all about in every game this season, whereas Shelton still has something to prove.
Both players could be invited, however, and both certainly deserve it. Shelton isn't having a poor season either. In fact, the big defensive tackle is leading the team in tackles despite playing a position that rarely sees big numbers in the box score.
To go along with his 82 tackles, Shelton also has 16.5 tackles for loss and 8.5 sacks. He's a space-eater in the middle of the defense and one of the more difficult one-on-one matchups in the game. After his phenomenal senior season, scouts will want to see him once more against top-end offensive line talent, and the Senior Bowl is the perfect place for that to happen.
All stats via cfbstats.com.
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